Clutch



March l2, 1940.

'r.Y L. FAwlcK l 2,193,481

CLUTCH Filed Sept. 10, 1938 INVENToR www," L. Few/0.

ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 12, 1940 CLUTCH Thonas L. Fawick, Akron, Ohio, assignor to The Fawick CompanyJnc., Wabash, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application September 10, 1938, Serial No. 229,303

11 Claims.

- This invention relates to clutches or the like and especially those of the type in which an elastic uid-container is charged and vented for engaging and disengaging the assembly.

In such assemblies, especially when the elastic fluid-container is mounted on the inner member, clutch-disengagement may be undesirably delayed, after the fluid-container has been vented, by centrifugal force of parts of the rapidly rotating fluid container, especially in its longitudinally disposed middle zone, in the absence of precaution such as that of the present invention, of which the chief objects are to avoid such undesirable delay of clutch disengagement, with or without -the application of suction to the interior of the fluid container, and to do this in a simple, light and economical structure.

Ofthe accompanying drawing:

Fig. l is a medial section of a clutch assembly embodying my invention in one of its preferred forms. I

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary medial section of a modification.

Referring to the drawing, the assembly of Fig. 1 comprises a pair of shafts in series, of which shaft I8 may be considered as the driving shaft and shaft II as the driven shaft.

Secured upon the shaft II is a bell-shaped member I2 having a preferably cylindrical inner face adapted to be frictlonally engaged by an elastic tire-like duid-container I3, to be driven thereby.

In the assembly here shown the fluid-container I3 is secured as by vulcanization upon an annular rim member I4 which is formed with a radial internal flange I5 which is secured, as by bolts I6, I6, to a hub member I1 mounted upon the shaft I0.

Built into the fluid container and preferably vulcanized to the inner face of the rubber member I3 and also to each other in their middle zones where they abut each other, at I8, are a pair of annular rubber tubes I9, I9 which together providea Huid-tight lining for the tire-like member I3 and also provide, in their walls which are secured together at I8, an annular web requiring to be stretched radially for engagement of the clutch and to retract, by reason of its elasticity, upon the venting of the fluid-container, for quickly withdrawing the tread portion of the member I3 from the inner face of the bell-shaped member I2, and thus effecting prompt and complete clutch-disengagement.

In order that a single charging and venting conduit, 28, may be employed for both of the tubes I9, they are formed with -at least one pair of registered apertures, as at 2l.

The tire-like fluid-container, composed chiefly of rubber or the like, may be reinforced with cords such as the cords 22, and preferably the rubber is 5 extended to a feathered edge on a bevel margin on each side of the rim member I4, as at 23, 23, to avoid a lifting and tearing away of the rubber at those positions.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, a tire like 10 member 24, permissibly reinforced with cords 25, is formed with bead portions 26, 26 which may include bead cores 26a, 26 and with an internal middle rib or web 21 which preferably is vulcanized to a metal anchoring ring 28 adapted to 15 hold the inner periphery of the web against expansion so that the web is stretched radially as the tire-like member is distended by uid into contact with a bell member 29 for clutch engagement, and, by its recoil, assures prompt and complete disengagement of the clutch upon lthe venting of the tire-like member.

The bead portions 26 of the tire-like member are clamped, by a ange 30 of its rim member, 3|, and by a clamping flange 32, under the force 25 of cap screws such as the screw 33, against spacer rings 34, 34 which interi-it with and clamp the internal middle rib or web 28 as a further anchorage of the latter.

'Ihus the flanges 38 and 32 are sealed to the 30 bead portions 26 of the tire-like member and the latter are sealed to the spacer rings 34, which in turn are sealed to the middle rib or web 26.

For conducting uid into the tire-like member, to force it away-from the spacer rings and against 35 they bell member 29, a fluid-conducting pipe 35 is mounted in a hole 36 formed in one of the spacer rings and having communication with longitudinal distributing grooves 31, 31. formed in the inner face of the tire-like member and connected by at least one transverse groove 38. The mode of operation' of each of these embodiments will be clear from the foregoing description.

The invention obviously is also applicable to brakes of analogous types as well as to clutches.

Subject matter disclosed in this application is described and more broadly claimed in my Patents No. 2,111,422, granted March 15, 1938, and No. 2,141,645, granted December 27, 1938, and 5 some of the subject matter disclosed in this application is disclosed and is claimed in other combinations in my copending applications Ser. No. 101,638, filed September 19, 1936; Ser. No. 131,656, filed March 18, 1937; Ser. No. 158,591;

filed August 11, 1937; Ser. No. 158,592, led August 11, 1937; and No. 198,259, filed March 26, 1938.

I claim:

l. A clutch comprising an outer member having a frictional-engagement face, and an inner structure comprising an outwardly distensible :duid-container adapted to be distended by fluid pressure for eiecting clutch engagement, said iiuid container being provided with an elastic internal tie member requiring to be stretched radially of the assembly for clutch engagement and adapted by reason of its elasticity to expedite clutch-disengagement upon the venting of the duid-container.

2. A clutch comprising an outer member having a frictional-engagement face, and an inner structure comprising a circumferentially disposed torque-transmitting strip of stretchable material adapted to be stretched outwardly to effect clutch engagement, means for so stretching the strip,

and elastic means additional to the strip for yieldingly resisting the outward stretching of the strip.

3. In apparatus of the character described,

kthe combination of outer and inner relatively rotary structures adapted for frictional engagement with each other, the inner structure comprising an outwardly distensible uid container adapted to be distended by uid pressure for eiecting frictional engagement of the structures, said uid container being provided with an elastic internal tie member requiring to be stretched radially of the assembly for such engagement and adapted by reason of its elasticity to expedite disengagement upon venting of the uidcontainer.

4. In apparatus of the character described, the combination of outer and inner relatively rotary structures adapted for frictional engagement with each other, the inner structure comprising a circumferentially disposed torque-transmitting strip of stretchable material adapted to be stretched outwardly to eiect frictional engagement of the structures, meansffor so stretching the strip, and elastic means additional to the strip for yieldingly resisting the outward movement of the strip.

5. In apparatus of the character described, the combination of outer and inner relatively rotary structures adapted for frictioal engagement with each other, the inner structure comprising an outwardly distensible iiuid container adapted to be distended by fluid pressure for eiecting frictional engagement of the structures, said fluid container being provided with an elastic internal tie member `requiring to be stretched radially of the assembly for such engagement and adapted by reason of its elasticity to expedite disengagement upon venting of the uuid-container, the said elastic internal tie member being substantially integral with the outer wall of the uidcontainer.

6. In apparatus of the character described, the combination of outer and inner relatively rotary structures adapted for frictional engagement with each other, the inner structure comprising an outwardly distensible fluid container adapted to be distended by uid pressure for eiecting frictional engagement of the structures, said fluid container being provided with an elastic internal tie member requiring to be stretched radially of the assembly for such engagement and adapted by reason of its elasticity to expedite disengagement upon venting of the i'luidcontainer, the said elastic internal tie member being a circumferentially disposed web substantially integral with the outer wall of the iiuidcontainer.

7. In apparatus of the character described, the combination of outer and inner relatively rotary structures adapted for frictional engagement with each other, the inner structure comprising a circumferentially disposed torque-transmitting strip of stretchable material adapted to be stretched outwardly to eiect frictional engagement of the structures, means for so stretching the strip, and elastic means additional to the strip for yieldingly resisting the outward movement of the strip, the said elastic meansbeing substantially integral with the strip.

8. In apparatus of the character described, the combination of outer and inner relatively rotary structures adapted for frictional engagement with each other, the inner structure comprising a circumferentially disposed torque-transmitting strip of stretchable material adapted to be stretched outwardly to effect frictional engagement of the structures, means for so stretching the strip, and elastic means additional to the strip for yieldingly resisting the outward movement of the strip, the said elastic means being a circumferentially disposed web substantially in. tegral with the strip.

9. A driving clutch element comprising a uid pressure bag having an internal elastic tie for resisting centrifugal force.

l0. A driving clutch element comprising a iiuid pressure bag of axially oblong cross-sectional form having an internal elastic tie for resisting centrifugal force.

11. A driving clutch element comprising an endless stretchable strip of material and elastic means additional to the strip for resisting centrifugal stretching of the strip.

THOMAS L. FAWICK. 

